Wilhelm the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1535-1592)
Duke Wilhelm the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1535-1592)
Biography
Duke Wilhelm was the youngest son of Duke Ernst the Confessor (1497-1546) and Sophie of
Mecklenburg (1508-1541) (sister of the incompetent Duke Phillip of Mecklenburg).
At the death of his father, Duke Wilhelm (then aged 10) and his two brothers were still minors. His uncles who previously had ruled jointly for periods with Duke Ernst declined to act as regents for Duke Ernst's children. The Emperor decreed the Archbishop of Cologne and the Count of Schaumburg would act as regent.
The oldest son, Francis Otto assumed power in 1555 at age 25 and inherited considerable debts from his father. Duke Francis Otto married and shortly after passed away in 1559. From this point Duke Wilhelm the Younger (then aged 24) and his brother Duke Heinrich III (1533-1598) ruled jointly. In 1559 the brothers fell out after Duke Heinrich's marriage to the daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. To prevent the splitting of the territory, the brothers agreed Heinrich would abdicate the title of Duke and take over the Lordship of Dannenberg in 1559 with equal authority to the Duke within that territory.
From 1559 Duke Wilhelm the Younger ruled alone until his death in 1592. However, due to his significant mental derangements his involvement in governing the territory decreased in his later years.
In 1561 Wilhelm married Dorothea, daughter of King Christian III of Denmark. Their marriage produced 8 daughters and 7 sons to survive their father.
The Duke who was locked away in a tower
Duke Wilhelm was prone to periods of major confusion, marked by crying, indecision, late night drinking, and an inability to sleep. On multiple occasions in 1582 he is recorded to have run through the streets of Celle half-dressed firing his pistols into the air at random. During his period of madness in 1582 the Emperor was persuaded by the Duke's councillors and Dorothea to appoint a regency council including the husband of Dorothea's sister, Elector Augustus of Saxony. Wilhelm was furious at Dorothea for approaching the Emperor and attacked her with tailor's shears.
The council agreed to confine Wilhelm until he fared better. Wilhelm quickly forgot his agreement to cooperate and 20 armed guards were required to monitor him. After a few months of confinement he appeared to return to normal and the commissioners agreed he could rule again.
After five years, in 1587, after visiting his daughter and her husband in Franconia, he once again fell into madness. This time Wilhelm lost all confidence in his council and relied only on one man, the Gossvogt Gabriel von Donop. Von Donop took charge and the council split between his supports and those who opposed him. The unclear regency of the Duchy after 1587 led to Wilhelm's brother Heinrich once trying again to seize portions of the Duchy for himself in 1890 which Emperor Rudolf II settled by appointing a second commission to manage the Duchy.
From 1587 Duke Wilhelm remained under guard for the remainder of his life. The Duke was confined to his Palace and ate and drank to excess, attached his servants and mostly ignored physicians' advice.
Doctors prescribed leeching, multiple warm baths a day, modest meals and rest. They could not, however, control the Duke's lust for drink. In 1588 doctors advised Dorothea that Wilhelm was trying to break through his door and worried he would break into her chambers. However the Duchess declined to follow medical advice to jail the Duke and sought other medical opinions. Wilhelm passed away at his Palace in Celle in 1592 at the age of 57.
After his death his 7 sons, who had patiently and loyally waited during their father's madness, agreed to
joint ruling arrangements like their father and grandfather before them to preserve the unity of the Duchy.
You can visit Celle Palace in the nearby town of Celle after visiting Wolfenbüttel Palace. Ask our staff for directions.